October 28/10 11:13 am - Canadian Track Riders Visit LA School

Posted by Editoress on 10/28/10

Canadian Commonwealth Games cyclists Monique Sullivan and Tara Whitten visited a local school in Los Angeles while preparing for the first round of the Track World Cup. Monique Sullivan sent the following report:

Fresh off the Commonwealth Games, flag bearer Tara Whitten and her teammate Monique Sullivan presented to the grade 10 classes at a Los Angeles school yesterday.

"They are 30 minutes away from the best velodrome in North America. Cycling isn't a sport you need to start when you're really young, in fact it's a great sport to start when you're a teenager. You never know who will have natural talent. I was never any good at sports when I was a kid, but cycling came naturally to me," noted Sullivan, who loves talking to school groups. "A lot of these kids have bikes at home that don't get ridden. We wanted to inspire them to get out and try something unexpected."

Sullivan was surprised by how different the school was from home. "You needed photo ID in order to get a visitors pass and it was definitely rougher than the high school I went to. But kids are kids and riding bikes is fun. Some of them seemed interested in the track, I really hope they come out."

Tanya Dubnicoff was also there and commented: "I think Monique and Tara were reminded of what great opportunities they have through cycling. Giving back to youth is so valuable, no matter what demographic! More importantly you never know when, where or IF, your message is heard. It's about taking advantage of those opportunities to spread a positive message. You know that someone in that room was affected!"